Dr. Jamie Schwandt and his guest discuss how you can dream big, think positive and take action. In this episode, Bubba Dowling, with the Kansas Department for Children and Families, discusses the many obstacles he has overcome to find success.
Year: 2016
July brings unusually high tornado activity to Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas official says the high number of tornadoes seen in the state in July is unusual.
Pics of significant #tornado 358-412 MDT W of Syracuse KS @NWSDodgeCity #kswx pic.twitter.com/WpF5pKLtla
— Matt Ziebell (@Matt_Ziebell) July 15, 2016
The Wichita Eagle reports that eight tornadoes touched down in the state in July. Three tornadoes touched down in Greenwood County on July 7, including and EF-2. An EF-3 tornado also hit the county.
One tornado touched down about four miles east of Syracuse in Hamilton County on July 15, but it didn’t do enough damage to warrant a damage survey by the National Weather Service. Jeff Hutton with the Dodge City branch of the weather service says that it was officially recorded as an EF-1.
Jeff Hutton of the National Weather Service’s Dodge City branch says the EF-2 and EF-3 tornadoes in Greenwood County and the one near Syracuse “were definitely stronger than you usually see in July.”
Kan. man hit by pickup while picking up nails on the highway
RILEY COUNTY – A Manhattan man was injured in an accident just after 10:30a.m. on Monday in Riley County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2013 Ford F 150 driven by Gilberto Rodriguez-Martinez, 33, Manhattan, was westbound on Kansas 18 seven miles northeast of Interstate 70.
A box of nails fell out of the truck.
Rodriguez-Martinez made a U-turn through the median and double backed to pickup the box of nails.
He parked the vehicle on inside shoulder of eastbound K18, exited the vehicle, crossed the median and proceeded to pick up nails which were thrown across the inside lane of westbound K18.
A 2003 Ford F150 driven by Jacob Worcester, 23, Manhattan, was westbound on K18. He did not realize Rodriguez-Martinez was in the roadway.
The driver side mirror of the pickup struck the Rodriguez-Martinez. And pulled off on the north shoulder of the road.
Rodriguez-Martinez was transported to Via Christi in Manhattan.
Worcester was not injured and properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
Sheriff: 18-month-old Kansas girl dies in hot car
DICKINSON COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Dickinson County are investigating a child’s death in a car on Sunday evening.
Just after 6:15 p.m. deputies were notified of a child found not breathing in a vehicle at a rural residence in the 2800 Block of Lark Road, according to Dickinson County Sheriff Gareth Hoffman.
After an investigation, the child was identified as 18-month-old Olivia Ann Engstrom.
“The child and her siblings were playing outside and the parents were inside the home,” said Hoffman. “At some point the toddler got into the vehicle and the doors were shut.”
The National Weather Service indicated temperatures at that time on Sunday were in the upper 90s.
The child was not transported to a hospital.
Deputies conducted numerous interviews on Sunday evening.
“We are working on being extremely compassionate to the family,” said Hoffman.
“The siblings are very young.”
An autopsy will be conducted.
“Unless there is something we missed, the death will be considered a tragic accident,” said Hoffman.
Community Connection: Dr. Gary Brinker
Mike Cooper visits with Dr. Gary Brinker about the results from the most recent poll at the Docking Institute at Fort Hays State University.
Police identify body found in the Arkansas River
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have confirmed that a body found in the Arkansas River is that of a missing theology student.
Police said Monday that the body has been identified as that of 24-year-old Brian Bergkamp, a native of Garden Plain. He had been scheduled to enter his third year of theology study at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
He was found last week after being reported missing July 9 when the Arkansas River was swollen by recent rains.
Fire officials say two men and three women in separate kayaks were floating on the river Saturday when they hit churning water.
Officials said one of the women fell into the swirling water, and Bergkamp left his kayak to assist her. She and the other kayakers made it to shore.
Police: Cigarettes worth over $3K stolen from Kan. delivery truck
SALINE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating after several thousands of dollars worth of cigarettes were stolen from a parked delivery truck.
Three cases of cigarettes were taken from an unlocked and unattended delivery truck owned by DSG Transportation-St. Joe Distributing while it was parked on July 28, in the 2100 block of West Crawford, according to Police Captain Mike Sweeney.
Three cases contained 900 packs of miscellaneous cigarettes valued at $3,000.
2017 MIAA Softball Tournament returns to ASA Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The MIAA has announced it will return to the ASA Hall of Fame Complex, located in Oklahoma City, for the 2017 softball championship. The tournament will be a three-day event, Thursday, April 27 – Saturday, April 29, 2017. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The championship will be an eight-team double elimination format and will be contested at the ASA Hall of Fame Complex, which previously served as the site of the 2015 NCAA Division II National Championship.
“We are excited that the 2017 MIAA Softball Championship will return to the ASA Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City next spring,” MIAA Commissioner Dr. Bob Boerigter said. This venue will certainly provide a memorable experience for our student-athletes and fans”.
Widely recognized as the “Softball Capital of the World™”, the ASA Hall of Fame Complex is the ultimate destination in the softball world. With four fields and other world class amenities, the Complex has played host to the best softball competition in the world, including USA teams that represent the nation in international competitions. Annually, the ASA Hall of Fame Complex plays host to the nation’s No. 1 collegiate contest, the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS), which annually draws over 70,000 spectators from around the nation.
“We look forward to hosting the MIAA Softball Championships and welcoming teams to our facility,” said ASA/USA Softball Director of Championships Chris Sebren. “We can’t wait for the fans, teams and officials to see the renovations at our facility while creating memories that will last them a lifetime.”
Northwest Kansas voters prepare for Tuesday’s primary
By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
Kansas voters head to the polls on Tuesday for the 2016 Primary Election with a number of key races on the Republican ticket.
In Ellis County, two county commission seats are up for re-election, and there are two Republicans vying for each seat.
The District 2 race features incumbent Barb Wasinger against Al Ackerman. Dean Haselhorst, District 3 incumbent, faces challenger Ron Adams.
In state races, both Republican and Democratic voters will vote for Kansas Senate candidates. On the Republican ticket incumbent Jerry Moran faces challenger DJ Smith of Osawatomie. Democrats will choose between Patrick Wiesner and Monique Singh.
In the race for the First Congressional District, Republican Tim Huelskamp, the incumbent from Fowler, faces Great Bend obstetrician Roger Marshall.
Monday is the deadline for independent candidates to file for the November general election.
Advanced voting ends at noon Monday.
The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m Tuesday.
Click HERE for more on statewide races, election rules and expected turnout.
Primary 2016: Kansas primary features key races for Congress, Legislature
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas voters will decide whether they want to alter the balance of power in the Legislature and replace two Republican congressmen in Tuesday’s primary election.
The GOP and the Democratic Party are picking their nominees for the U.S. Senate, congressional seats, the Kansas Senate, the Kansas House and hundreds of county offices.
Moderate Republicans are hoping to knock off conservative legislators in GOP contests, and U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp is facing a tough challenge from Roger Marshall, a Great Bend obstetrician, in the big 1st Congressional District of western and central Kansas.
What to know about the election:
KEY RACES
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran is seeking a second, six-year term and is expected to win easily over a largely unknown opponent, D.J. Smith, of Osawatomie, in the GOP primary.
U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder also is expected to score a big victory over his Republican primary opponent, retired Army officer Greg Goode, of Louisburg, in the Kansas City-area 3rd District.
The biggest race is Huelskamp’s contest against Marshall. The incumbent is a tea party favorite who first won the seat in 2010, but his conflicts with GOP leaders turned agriculture and business groups against him.
More than two dozen Republican legislators, most of them conservative allies of GOP Gov. Sam Brownback, face primary challengers. Three House Democrats also do, in relatively safe Democratic districts.
POLLING HOURS
All polling places across the state must open at 7 a.m., though local election officials have the authority to allow voting to begin at 6 a.m.
Polling closes at 7 p.m. local time. Four counties on the state’s border with Colorado — Greeley, Hamilton, Sherman and Wallace — are on Mountain time, an hour earlier than the rest of the state.
WHO CAN VOTE
Kansas recognizes only three political parties, Republican, Democratic and Libertarian. Libertarians do not appear on the primary ballot because they choose their candidates at a state convention.
People who affiliate with one party when they register to vote can’t vote in another party’s primary. But voters who register as unaffiliated can declare an affiliation at the polls and vote in a Republican or Democratic primary.
Also, under a 2011 state law, voters must show a photo ID at the polls.
PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP
Election officials will be required to count potentially thousands of votes in legislative and local races even though the people casting them didn’t comply with a 2013 state law requiring them to document their U.S. citizenship when registering.
A federal judge ruled in May that people who registered at motor vehicle offices without providing proof of their citizenship still had the right to cast ballots in federal races under federal law.
The federal judge’s ruling prompted Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a Republican who has championed the proof-of-citizenship law, to direct county election officials to set their ballots aside for later review and count only their votes in federal races.
But the American Civil Liberties Union filed a state-court lawsuit challenging Kobach’s rule, and a Shawnee County District Court judge ruled Friday that all votes on such ballots must be counted. Ahead of Tuesday’s primary, about 17,600 people registered at motor vehicle offices without providing proof of their U.S. citizenship.
TURNOUT
Kansas has about 1.7 million registered voters, and turnout in primaries in presidential-election years has averaged about 28 percent since 1996.
But turnout has been lower in more recent years, and was 23 percent in 2012.
A 28 percent turnout would bring about 480,000 voters to the polls.
Ellis considering higher utility rates for customers
ELLIS–Ellis residents will likely see higher utility rates soon.
Council members will consider three ordinances during their meeting tonight, Mon., Aug. 1, regarding rate increases for sewer and sanitation services. The council will also consider an ordinance for automatic rate hikes for utility funds.
In other business, policy will be discussed regarding city department complaint investigations. At their last meeting, council members considered issuing a body camera to Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman but took no action. Scheuerman recently had several public complaints lodged against him.
The complete agenda follows.
AGENDA August 1, 2016 REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF ELLIS City Hall – Council Meeting Room
BILLS ORDINANCE REVIEW WORK SESSION BEGINS AT 7:00 P.M.
ROLL CALL AND MEETING CALL TO ORDER AT 7:30 P.M.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA (if needed)
1) CONSENT AGENDA
a) Minutes from Regular Meeting on July 18, 2016
b) Bills Ordinance #2002
(Council will review for approval under one motion under the consent agenda. By majority vote of the governing body, any item may be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately)
PUBLIC COMMENTS
(Each speaker will be limited to five minutes. If several people from the group wish to speak on same subject, the group must appoint a spokesperson. ALL comments from public on agenda items must be during Public Comment. Once council begins their business meeting, no more comments from public will be allowed.)
2) PRESENTATIONS OF AWARDS, PROCLAMATIONS, REQUESTS & PETITIONS (HEARINGS)
3) SPECIAL ORDER
a) Department Update – Chief Denis Vine
b) Discuss Property Non-Compliance Issues – Luke Karlin
4) UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a) Discuss Spruce Street Sewer Line Extension
b) Consider Approval of Resolution Creating Tourism Committee
5) NEW BUSINESS
a) Consider Approval of Bond Resolution for General Obligation Bonds
b) Consider Ordinance Providing for Automatic Rate Increases for Utility Funds
c) Consider Ordinance Providing for Sewer Rate Increase
d) Consider Ordinance Providing for Sanitation Rate Increase
e) Consider Purchase of Chlorine
f) Discuss Policy on Department Complaint Investigations
g) Consider Entity-Wide Training Opportunity
h) Discuss Community Forum Event
6) REPORTS FROM CITY OFFICIALS
a) Administrative
1) Public Works
(1) Consider Approval for KRWA Training
(2) Department Update
2) Police
(1) July Activity Report
(2) August Staff Calendar
(3) Department Update
3) City Clerk
(1) PCBZA Minutes
(2) Department Update
4) Attorney
5) Mayor Update and Announcements
(1) Reminder of KOMA/KORA Training
EXECUTIVE SESSIONS
7) ADJOURNMENT
‘Farm Team’ bucks incumbent in rural Kansas GOP primary
By Peggy Lowe
They came north from McPherson and south from Cloud County. East from Hays and west from Topeka.
From the far-off reaches of Kansas’ 1st Congressional District, representatives of the state’s agriculture interests met on a recent July morning in a small storefront in Salina, making history.
“You drove all this way,” said Roger Marshall, “you have to get your photo taken!”
The event was a circling-the-wagons endorsement for Marshall, a political newcomer and obstetrician who is challenging GOP incumbent U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp. For the first time in anyone’s memory, the Kansas Farm Bureau — one of the state’s most powerful political and business groups — gave its nod to an outsider over the guy it helped put in office in the first place.
Because there’s no Democrat in the race, the Aug. 2 primary could settle this battle for the western Kansas seat before the general election. There is a Libertarian candidate to meet in November, but many are betting on Marshall.
“The entire Kansas agriculture community has risen with one voice to say, ‘Enough. Enough of the political games,’” Marshall said. “They’ve risen to support our team because the clarity of purpose, to restore our representation, our reputation and influence over federal farm policy.”
Marshall, 55, has traveled to 50 of the Farm Bureau’s counties and will have the support of the group, which counts 40,000 members, said Stacey Forshee, a Kansas Farm Bureau board member.
“Kansas Farm Bureau believes that we need honest representation and a strong leader in Washington, D.C., someone willing to listen to our concerns and actively participate in making the agriculture industry stronger,” Forshee said.
Huelskamp, 47, who won his seat in the tea party wave of 2010, is now fighting for his political life in what’s called “the Big First,” a 60,000-square-mile area that covers 63 Kansas counties, two time zones and has more cattle than people. Huelskamp’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
“A lot of our frustrations, honestly, started with no representation on the Ag Committee,” Forshee said.
Huelskamp lost his seat on the House Agriculture Committee in 2012, pushed out by then-Speaker John Boehner because Huelskamp didn’t back GOP leadership. Huelskamp retaliated, helping lead the “Freedom Coalition,” which ousted Boehner last year.
At stops out on the campaign trail, Huelskamp has said that he will get his seat back on the Ag Committee. But House Speaker Paul Ryan has remained mum on the issue.
Huelskamp failed to do what most young congressional members do — keep their heads down and learn the ropes, said Joe Romance, an associate professor of political science at Fort Hays State University.
“That is not Huelskamp’s personality, and it’s not the personality of the tea party group who want to go in there and shake things up,” Romance said.
Many voters in this conservative district say they are still aligned with Huelskamp’s social beliefs — opposition to abortion and gay marriage, support of gun rights. And he has some key endorsements, including the anti-tax Club for Growth and Koch Industries, home of the Wichita conservatives who, with a $10,000 campaign donation, are among his top donors.
But many of the farm and ranch groups have tired of the “selfish agendas and me-first attitudes,” said Katie Sawyer, an agriculture advocate who farms with her husband in McPherson County.
“I want a congressman who won’t be met around every corner with closed doors and burned bridges,” Sawyer said.
The farm groups also are angry that Huelskamp hasn’t supported one of the state’s biggest projects, the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, or NBAF, the Department of Homeland Security’s billion-dollar animal disease research facility being built in Manhattan. Another problem for them is Huelskamp’s vote against the 2014 Farm Bill, which offered farmers protections in the form of crop insurance.
— Peggy Lowe, investigations editor at Harvest Public Media, is based at KCUR.
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